Reading The Lines
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: A plan is formed to set up new farmer Gavin Wilhelm and antisocial tenant Nami together on a romantic dinner date.  However, things don't turn out as planned, and the intended pair meet up later on for a private conversation. Prequel of Between Maidens.


_Disclaimer: I don't know… do you guys WANT me to own the rights to Harvest Moon? Too bad, I don't. Bu hey, if you cheer me on, I just might own the rights to equally great games that I came up with. Although, that sounds rather cocky of me. Forget that I ever said that._

_Note: This is a prequel to so many AWL stories I've written beforehand that have used the Farmer Character "Gavin Wilhelm". If you start to have suggestive thoughts concerning these character's fates, I suggest you look some at the stories that occur chronologically after this story before you voice them. (ahem, no. I am NOT going to unborn his future son Link to appease you guys. He's one of my favorite OCs, thank you very much.) Thank you for your time._

**Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life**

**Reading The Lines**

It was a peaceful Fall afternoon in Forget-Me-Not Valley. The sky was fairly cloudy, and the valley was cooled with gentle breezes.

Inside the Inner Inn, three figures were conspiring by the welcome counter with cheerful expressions on their faces.

One was that of Tim, one of the co-owners of the Inn. He had messy black hair with side burns, squinty eyes. He wore a white vendor's cap, a dirty white t-shirt with a tight red vest over his round belly, an orange belt-like apron and a pair of black and white-striped shoes.

Another was that of Ruby, the other co-owner and cook of the Inn. She had short black hairs and dainty beady eyes. She wore a tropical yellow shirt with red and blue flower patern, and a stripped dress resembling a grass skirt.

The last scheming figure was Muffy, the barmaid of the Blue Bar next door. She had long, flowing golden hair held back by a black headband, and sparkling emerald eyes. She wore a haughty red skirt along with a light blue cotton jacket, and a some black high-heels.

"So… is everything set in place, then?" Muffy asked.

"Yep! The food's in the oven and nearly finished, the scented candles are prepped, and Nami should arrive here pretty soon!" Ruby beamed.

"Good! I've already got the stuff ready for a special romance cocktail, and Griffin is already prepared with guitar in hand for his queue! I just need to steer Gavin towards the Inn, and our little plan is under way." Muffy grinned.

"Hee, wow. You ladies are certainly good at this planning all this romance stuff, huh? Well, I for one am glad to be of help! Nami deserves to be happy! It will only be harder if she keeps denying herself, you know?" Tim said.

"I'm just glad you did what could, Mr. Enrole" Muffy replied. "And don't worry. I'm sure once everything plays out, the floodgates will pour out for Nami and it will be happy ending for the passionate pair! Poor Gavin is just too shy for his own good, and that redhead is the most stubborn person I've ever met, I'm sure they'll be very thankful once their true feelings for each other are finally out in the open!"

"It would be a sight to behold to finally see her smile for once…" Ruby admitted blissfully.

"She's been like a daughter for us, you know? It would be great to know that she found lasting happiness in her life, and what better man for her than Leonard's old son? The old farmer was a very hearty man, and I'm glad to see his son to be just as earnest and good-natured!" Tim admitted.

"Then we shall not fail!" Muffy assured. "Now, let's get ready for the main event, okay?"

Tim and Ruby nodded in unison.

"Right!" they both cried enthusiastically.

Half an hour later, Nami stopped by the Inn after a long hike around the Valley. She had short, boyish crimson hair parted to the side, and narrow, focused ice blue eyes. She wore an unbuttoned, checkered light blue shirt over a sleeveless yellow top. Below the belt she had on a pair of white shorts and a pair of white-tiped blue sneakers.

"Hey, Ruby! Got any of that good stuff on you? I've seemed to work up an appetite after that walk." The cool tenant stated.

"Sure! And as an extra favor, I've prepared your favorite curry today!" Ruby chirped.

Curry, eh? Alright… this should be good." Nami said with a hint of anticipation.

"Perfect! Now if you will follow me to the back eating room, your meal will be ready in just a minute!" Ruby mentioned.

"Ah, that's alright. I feel like resting a bit too after my workout. You can just take it up to my room and I'll be fine." Nami replied.

"N-no! I insist you eat in the dining room! Besides, I'm sure there's no better way to relax than to be eating in the appropriate room!" Ruby suggested.

Nami gave her a dubious glare for one solid moment before she gave a shrug and a sigh.

"Fine, if you insist… but please let me have my space while I eat." Nami groaned.

"You got it, dear!" Ruby beamed.

Nami gave the hostess another curious glance before she followed her inside.

"Yeah, I don't get it. I know it's not my birthday, and it can't be her's or anyone else's… I have everyone's birthday down in memory in case I'm unwittingly led into someone's surprise party. Still, she's too enthusiastic for some reason…" the cool redhead thought to herself.

Once the pair reached a small dining table, Ruby pulled back the chair and promptly directed Nami towards it with her conspicuous smile, which Nami decided to

oblige. After Ruby stepped back, Nami looked across the table, surprised to see a young man with messy brown hair and shocked chocolate eyes.

"Nami?" the young man cried aloud in an awkward tone.

"Gavin?" Nami cried in an identical manner.

The pair eyed Ruby with iffy looks.

"Gavin honey apparently had the same idea for lunch, so we were more than happy to serve him! Unfortunately… we're a little short on seating options around here, so I couldn't get you a lone seat today! But hey! You two are good friends right? I'm sure you won't this arrangement for the day, Nami?" Ruby explained.

"No… not at all." Nami said in a rather annoyed tone.

"Right! Well, enjoy your meals, you two!" Ruby said, ignoring the awkward scene between the pair.

Tim then arrived with a tray of two bowlfuls of curry for each, and placed them towards the consumers.

"Alright, here's your curry! Time to eat up!" Tim cheered before he and Ruby left them alone.

With the scene set, the uncomfortable couple began eating their curry with looks on their faces suggesting that there were guns shoved onto their backs threatening them to commence the meal. With near-empty stomachs and a delicious meal before them, they had little choice than to obey their hungry.

"That's funny… I don't remember this thin vase with the red rose here before." Nami voiced before taking a spoonful of curry.

"True! Ah…maybe the husband and wife are getting ready to celebrate their anniversary soon! Or they just recently acquired this rose and wanted all their customers to join it in eanest!" Gavin uttered nervously.

"I doubt the first one. Their anniversary isn't for another two months…" Nami grumbled.

"R-really? I didn't know you paid attention to that kind of thing." Gavin said nervously.

"Oh, trust me. They made sure I would know. They practically burned the date into my head last year when they went off into their little loving spree. It was a tad rather shameless celebration, if you ask me." Nami voiced with slight disgust. "By the way… what actually brings you here?"

Gavin made a funny face.

"Well, you see, I actually wanted to stop by the Blue Bar for a little boost, but then Muffy stood outside claiming the place was closed for the day due to maintenance or something. She then direct me here and suggested I grab a bite to eat while the bar's getting fixed up." He explained.

Nami focused her glare in the air with no particular focus.

"I see…" she answered coolly.

"I had to admit, I haven't exactly tried a whole portion of Ruby's cooking, so I decided to go with Muffy's suggestion. I honestly didn't know things would turn out this way." Gavin answered nervously.

Nami nodded with a stoic look at her eating partner.

"I believe you…"she answered back.

Right outside, Tim and Ruby were spying on the pair with uncertainty in their eyes.

"Why are they talking about our love lives when they should be moving on with their own?" Tim asked while furling his eyebrows.

"Oh, it's just small talk, honey! Nami's too awkward to be straightforward, so she's being indirect by using another couple to reach her conclusions! I actually feel touch that she's using us as an example." Ruby squealed secretly.

"Right… this is only the beginning! We shouldn't be in doubt about the plan!" Tim said in quelled enthusiasm.

Back in the dining area, Nami and Gavin have certainly made progress with their curry, but not so much in their relationship.

"Still, I didn't know you actually enjoyed curry as much as I do. Not that I'm suggesting we share a bowl later." Nami said while her eyes wandered about.

"Hey, I'll be more than happy to learn the recipe and make some for you if it'll keep us from this kind of scenario." Gavin replied while focusing his eyes on his curry.

Just when the pair got two-thirds done with their curry, an older, mustached man arrived in the room with an electric white guitar. He had thick tufts of brown hair with the front end extending outwards while the backside was tied at the back with a ponytail. He wore an unbuttoned white and orange cowboy shirt and silver necklace, along with dark jeans and deep brown cowboy boots.

"Hey guys! Well, since the Blue Bar needs the down time, I think I'll be chilling out hear to relax myself and practice my tunes. You don't mind me playing some music to get the right mood going for me, do you?" he asked.

"Not at all. Your playing's pretty easy on the ears, to be honest" Gavin said with a nod.

"No. We're good." Nami answered casually.

"Alright, then. I'm just gonna get myself ready here and I'll be good to go." The man named Griffin said back.

He then lifted his white guitar to his chest and began to play a soft, sweet melody.

The eating couple then looked past each other as if arriving to a sudden disturbing

revelation, then quickened the pace of their eating.

Back at the counter, Tim looked a little worried about the recent occurance.

"Wait a minute… why are they rushing through dinner, now? It's quite strange…." Tim gulped.

Ruby looked at her husband with a reassuring grin. "Oh, it must be the mood music. I'm sure they're starting to realize something about now." She said.

"Really?" Tim said. "But… something feels off about those two. It's as if--- they didn't figure out by now that they're being set up, did they?"

"Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. But at this point, I don't think it's a concern any longer. They'll simply be too helpless and play along seeing that they're made for each other." Ruby suggested.

Still, Tim kept a close, concerned eye on them.

Despite the thick tension that came upon them, the pair proceeded scarfing down their curry bowls until not a drop remained. Afterwards, the two looked up and scanned the area like they were surrounded by an army. They then at each other solemnly and with deep understandingly for a good long while until Gavin got up and left his seat.

"Yeah, um… I'm sorry. All this music is making me wonder how Lumina's doing with her piano practice! I'm going to go check up on her. She's like a little sister to me, you know?" Gavin said before he started heading out.

"Right… I understand. Good luck with that, then." Nami answered with a sly, subtle grin.

Tim and Ruby hid behind the wall in a hurry a moment before Gavin passed through the archway. The young farmer then turned and faced the married couple with a regretful expression.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Gavin voiced while he bowing his head.

After that last courteous gesture, the brown-haired farmer finally left the Inn.

"I don't get it… what went wrong?" Tim asked.

"Maybe we should've stopped him, dear. The whole scene set up here probably intimidated him, but it isn't a good excuse to abandon the plan! I can't believe we just let it play out like this!" Ruby sighed.

Suddenly, Muffy came in with a concerned look.

"What happened? Gavin suddenly walked out on the romantic date and went right past me without even sparing a glance! I tried to stop him, but he seemed… unnerved and scary for some reason! And just when I was about to whip out a special cocktail for the occasion!" she cried.

"Ooh… perhaps someone said something unwarranted and ended the whole date prematurely. I didn't really count on that, though. They seemed like good friends." Ruby suspected.

"Oh, no. Dinner went by just fine… in spite of what you people were trying to pull." A cold, familiar voiced uttered in contempt.

The trio turned around reluctantly to see an undeniably peeved Nami glaring daggers into them.

"Eep!" Muffy squealed.

In a state of panic, Ruby tried hard to defend the party.

"N-Nami! You got it all wrong here! We were---"

"Trying to set me up?!" Nami scowled. "I told you I don't need any match making! My life is fine as it is!"

"But… but we were only trying to help! We saw how much you get along with Gavin, so I felt that giving you two that extra push might start that spark for a relationship! You deserve to be happy!" Ruby explained.

"Yeah! And it's not like we're forcing you to be with our son! You like that Gavin boy, right?" Tim added.

"Too late… you guys kind of already tried that when I first came here…" Nami grumbled in a low voice.

"Please, for the last time, he's just friend who I happen to have a bit in common with. Despite what you want to believe, I don't have any feelings for him. So please just stop this stupidity and leave my love life alone!" Nami complained.

"Nami, I get it! It can be awkward, even difficult when coming to terms with your feelings. But it won't help if you keep them bottled up forever!" Muffy argued. "Believe it or not, we were doing this for your own good!"

"You're drawing assumptions from me!" Nami argued back. "And in case you didn't consider the thought, trying to pry open my feelings on a whim is a big violation of my personal space! You think you have that right because you believe yourselves to be my guardians?"

The plotting trio suddenly looked at their friend with deep remorse.

"Nami… we're really sorry…" Ruby said with deep sympathy.

"You guys planned this whole thing because you couldn't even trust my feelings… why should I ever trust you people anymore?" Nami answered quietly with disdain as she prepared to head out.

But then Muffy threw herself to the girl's side.

"Nami, wait a minute!" she cried.

The redhead focused her icy eyes upon the barmaid.

"This whole thing… it was my fault! I always saw the two of you at Blue Bar interacting with each other. I saw this chemistry between you so I came with this whole plan because you've been decent friends, alright? I just let them in on this plan of mine and they jumped at the chance because they thought it would help you as well. I'm sorry…. I really didn't think it would hurt you guys like that. Especially Gavin…" Muffy confessed with sincere regret.

Suddenly, Nami rose a hand towards the barmaid, and the poor girl closed her eyes and trembled in fear of being hurt.

Just as she sensed the hand rushing towards her face, the feeling of an incoming thread went away as Muffy heard a sigh. She opened her eyes to see Nami's hands at her side, but with her irritation remaining.

"You romantics really never think straight, do you?" she groaned in disgust before she left the premises.

Ruby slowly approached Muffy to try and console her.

"Muffy, honey. Please… don't take it to hard. I doubt she really hates you after that. She's just frustrated right now. I'm sure she'll get over it pretty soon. Maybe we could try another---"

"N-no. That's okay. I think we should for now." Muffy interrupted with a nod.

"…Alright." Ruby nodded back.

For a while, the dispirited Muffy gazed outside of the Inn. Images of Nami's frustration remained to haunt her mind. After awhile, she took notice of the redhead's sincerity in her words and expressions.

But aside from that, she saw something else within Nami's icy eyes. It appeared to be a pain from the past that the young barmaid fully understood herself.

Eventually, a tear managed to escape her watery eyes and make its way down her cheek.

"…_Oh Goddess… I'm so sorry…"_

Later that day, as sunset neared, Nami found herself at the beach trying to cool down.

"Yo." A casual voice called beside.

"Hey Gavin." Nami greeted.

The brown-haired farmer then took a seat ride beside his friend, who didn't reject.

"So, how was your time at Lumina's place?" Nami asked.

"It was good. Lumina's certainly improved quite a bit since the last time, and I decided to have a little fun myself." Gavin admitted sheepishly. "The two of us even tried to play that one song Griffin was playing at the Inn by ear!"

Nami looked at her friend curiously.

"Really? I didn't take you as a piano man. How'd it work out?"

"Not so good." Gavin sighed. "I had the melody down in my head, but it didn't quite translate well to my fingertips. I tried humming the tune to Lumina, who actually knew the piano better than I did, but we barely scratched the surface of the main melody. I couldn't help it! It was my favorite kind of music!"

"And so that's why you make a habit of hanging around the Blue Bar without having a drink, I assume?" Nami mentioned.

Gavin nodded.

"I should probably stick to painting to keep from embarrassing myself, huh?" he asked.

"Probably. Different kinds of artists have different skills, I suppose. But remember that you're the one discouraging yourself." Nami added.

"Right." Gavin chuckled.

At that point, the young farmer looked out towards the ocean with concern while Nami gazed forward nonchalantly.

"To be honest…as much as I'm having fun with her, I think I'm starting to dote on Lumina too much." Gavin said.

Nami glanced over to her side with a frown.

"You suspect that girl's starting to have feelings for you?" she asked.

Gavin nodded at sighed. "I… she's like a little sister to me, you know? And the kind of friend that can really relate to me at the same time. I really wish we'd known each other much sooner after Dad left. Maybe my childhood wouldn't have sucked so much…"

"Do you think you would've been in love with her instead if that had been the circumstances, instead of Celia?" Nami suddenly asked.

Gavin paused for a minute, then looked at his friend uneasily.

"Please don't talk about my feelings like that!" Gavin whined.

"Well, emotions tend to work in odd ways. They aren't set in stone as some romantics believe. Why do you think some people can move on and fall in love again after they lose their "soul mate" in one way or another?" Nami pointed out.

"Still, it makes my cherished bonds sound so… fleeting and insignificant." Gavin said nervously.

"That's how a social life begins to feel when you're not held down." Nami answered.

Gavin looked into Nami's eyes and felt a hint of strife, but decided not to bring it up.

"So, does she at least know by know about the issues with your "bastard" father now?" Nami inquired.

"Yeah… that was pretty hard. I think his death affected her most out of anyone here. To think that man would treat a stranger like his own daughter when he treated his real son like crap. I doubt she was going to listen to me at first, was she was surprisingly open about the whole thing." Gavin explained.

"She must really trust you then." Nami interjected.

"And to hear all those tales of my Dad from her perspective… I'm still trying to figure out in my head how the hell he can be a decent guy to a group of strangers, and Lumina's face nearly lit up speaking of the "good times" with "Farmer Leonard". But the way she's been eyeing me lately… she looks like she could…" Gavin trailed off as his body shook.

"You realize that at this point, it'll only end in heartache for her, right?" Nami added.

Gavin bowed his upper body and breathed long and hard.

"I'm not going to lie about my feelings to her. I love Celia… but Lumina… she still means a lot to me, you know?" Gavin said.

"It's because you see a lot yourself in her, so then it's going to be really hard on you, too… right?" Nami interjected.

"Like two peas in a pod… maybe even like twins…" Gavin sighed.

"The same could be said of us. The first part, I mean." Nami answered.

The farmer stared at Nami in disbelief.

"Yeah, about that… how exactly did we do that whole mind reading thing like we did back in the Inn, anyway?" Gavin asked.

"Shared insight… a similar wavelength or something. Either way, it's not like we have enough common interests to make us "buddies" or anything like that. As odd as it sounds, I think… we're actually the same in ways." Nami said.

"And yet we barely act alike." Gavin answered with an awkard voice.

"That doesn't matter. It's a core similarity. Anything we automatically know about each other isn't out of shared experiences or anything like that. It's just because we've been familiar with these aspects of ourselves since we started living. But trust me, this is just as strange to me. I can't believe I'm nearly identical with some "nice guy" farmer with sheepish tendencies." Nami explained.

Gavin twitched at the thought for a moment. He then looked up at the cloudy sky.

"Eh… so, how did you handle that situation back at the Inn? I'm sorry for leaving you like that, but it really was about time I had to go see Lumina." Gavin asked.

"No problem. Anyway, I blew off some steam on. I know they meant well, it's just… you looked angry, I was angry, and that's what it all came down to. I really hope they learned their lesson on trying to intervene with my life." Nami groaned.

"…Muffy was the mastermind, wasn't she?" Gavin deduced.

"Yeah… it really pissed me off when she started to brag about it." Nami muttered.

"I just hope you weren't too harsh towards her about the whole thing. She's been good to us at the Blue Bar, you know? Besides, there's something that tells me she's dealing with some right now, and I'd rather not see her too upset. She's really caring at heart." Gavin expressed.

Nami breathed hard.

"And that's precisely why I spared her. Damn it, if the people around us were just patient enough, they'd get the clearer picture." Nami gripped.

"I don't want the people to think I'm aspiring to be a pimp like Rock." Gavin groaned.

Both friends then sighed simultaneously.

"I take it this has happened to you before, then?" Gavin asked.

"At least once… it was while I was traveling with my old friend Cliff. I met this "charming" Musician and we he it off easily. Maybe "too" easily, because some of his colleagues managed to get Cliff to join in on their plot to get us together. After the whole their whole plan unfolded and blew up in their faces. I'm still okay with that Musician, but there wasn't anything between us, really. On the other hand, I got upset with my traveling partner for a little while. He's even worse than you in the sheepish department, but he's more than willing to make me happy when he can. I guess it was really hard on the poor guy when I refused to speak to him for some time…" Nami explained.

The young woman's head appeared to be hanging with deep regret.

"You certainly have plenty of stories about the old days with Cliff." Gavin smirked.

"I have plenty more where that came from, if you're interested. They're entertaining enough on a slow day." Nami grinned while stretching out her legs.

"So then… how are things going with Celia now? I'm betting it's too soon to tell her anything, but you're hitting it off with her just fine, right? She's easy to get along it seems…"

"Oh, yeah! Really good! I feel oddly uncomfortable with just how easy, though. I feel like our bond this far is mostly out of my obligation to farm. She probably wouldn't be so eager to warm up to me if I didn't need her farming tips like I do… it's like I'm cheating her somehow." Gavin sighed.

"It's likely because you're still getting over the fact that you took over your old man's job. But you know, she could have genuine respect for your hard work. I've seen you. You're putting in a whole lot of effort for a job that brings you bad memories." Nami replied.

"Really? You think?" Gavin said hopefully.

"Yeah… it's an oddly innate quality in most women, but they seem to admire hard workers." Nami explained.

"Even you?" Gavin asked.

Nami shrugged.

"Who's to say?"

The pair shared a little chuckle after that last remark.

"Well, I'm thinking you should get a move on seeing Celia again. You've been working your butt off at the farm the whole morning and you ended up barricading yourself in the Villa after that little incident at the Inn. Any more time with me right now and those guys just might try again in the near future." Nami warned.

"Yeah, I've had her in my mind throughout day. It's about time I paid her a visit." Gavin agreed.

The farmer then picked himself up and took a few steps away.

"Good luck with Celia, then. And make that love confession already. I want those pesky match makers off our backs as soon as possible." Nami announced.

"I'll keep that in mind." Gavin smiled.

He then took a few more steps towards leaving the beach, but then halted for a moment.

"… I hope everything will work out in the end for everybody… " Gavin uttered solemnly.

Nami shrugged again.

"I don't know… you're a pretty determined guy. You just have a miracle up your sleeve and you just didn't know it." She offered.

Gavin nodded back.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it? Well, goodbye Nami. See you tomorrow." Gavin said before heading off to Vesta's farm.

"Goodbye Gavin." Nami said back.

And soon enough, the cognitive redhead was alone once more on the beach. While the sound of the waves continued to flow, Nami removed a golden locket she kept hidden behind her overskirt and gazed at it thoughtfully.

"… _I'm such a hypocrite…"_

_Author's Note: If you're interested in knowing what's inside the locket, take a look my other Nami AWL story, "Goodbye Again". Heck, if you're interested in AWL stories in general, I also suggest taking a look at "Between Maidens", featuring Elli and Lumina (It's one of my most favorite HM fanfics I've written, actually! It even includes the memorable event of having Celia with a pillbox cap! Yay, fancy Celia!)_

_Er… sorry for the shameless advertising, but I hope you enjoyed._


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